First drive: Mercedes-Benz R63 AMG
Newswheel staff :: 23 August 2006 :: Filed under Crossover, SUV, Mercedes Benz, Mercedes Benz R-Class, Europe & UK, US
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An existential crisis made manifest in steel and plastic. It’s quite quick, too
Ponder, if you will, the current Mercedes-Benz SUV model range: the old-timer G-Class, revamped M-Class and the crazy-big new GL-Class. Suffice to say, M-B has plenty of SUV metal on its books. So, where exactly does that leave the six-seater, all-wheel-drive R-Class? Somewhere spanning the amorphous “crossover” divide between an upper-segment family, executive or estate car and an SUV or an MPV, that’s where. But precisely what kind of customer is supposed to offload the significant sum of £74,115 on the new range-topping R, the R63? It isn’t exactly obvious…
503bhp of category-confounding M-B muscle
Whatever, there’s no doubting the sheer quantity of metal you receive in return for your £74k. For starters, the standard R-Class is a massive vehicle by any measure and this AMG’ed variant is only available in evenly beastlier long wheelbase trim complete with an extra 235mm over the 2,980mm of the SWB model. At just under two metres wide, over 1.6 metres tall and over five metres long this barge boasts bags of room inside for six (without much luggage) or with the second and third row seats folded flat a conclusively cavernous 2,385 litres of loadspace is available.
Then there’s the monumental 503bhp 6.2-litre AMG V8 (the same all-new AMG-engineered unit that has begun cropping up across the M-B range), two pairs of chromed tailpipes and 20-inch (optionally 21-inch) five-spoke rims. And the sum total of this outsized example of Teutonic technology? A piffling 2,330kg.
So, it’s big, the spacious interior is suitably sumptuous and the long list of standard equipment is predictably packed with gizmos galore including a 7-speed ‘Speedshift’ auto, adjustable sports air suspension, adaptive damping, traction and stability control and water-cooled speed-sensitive power steering. In short, it’s the sort of total-spec uber car that renders you utterly blasé about even the most impressive automotive technology.
Also distinguishing the R63 from mere mortal Rs are redesigned front and rear aprons, enlarged intakes, AMG door sill panels, stainless pedals, sportier seats and steering wheel and, on our German-spec test car, a red-needled speedo which reads to 320km/h (almost 200mph). Spend a little extra (who wouldn’t?) and the R63’s options list includes such treats as crash-responsive head restraints, multi-zone climate control, a panoramic sunshine roof, a reversing camera, surround sound and a trailer coupling. Hell, it’s a wonder the thing only weighs 2.3 tonnes.
Oh, and there’s even a feature known as ‘Racetimer’ which records lap times, fastest lap, lap distance and your average and top speeds in the unlikely event that anyone chooses to spank an R63 around their local circuit.
Fancy an R63, anyone?The press launch fleet
Which brings us to the minor matter of the R63’s driving dynamics. Thanks to that 2.3 tonne kerb weight, of course, the laws of physics are a constant worry for the R63 driver. Likewise, there’s no denying that its sheer physical size requires road-placement care, especially in tight spaces. And granted, steering precision and response isn’t going to frighten a bona fide sports car. Hustling it along twisting, single carriageway roads is an exercise in commitment and concentration, not to mention raw skill. But to an extent AMG’s engineers have pulled off the impossible. There’s no denying it - the R63 grips and grips and grips, it goes where it’s pointed and it offloads velocity with ridiculous ease thanks to a set of truly enormous disc brakes.
But the real showbiz moves are reserved for that monstrous, naturally-aspirated bent eight. Suitably raucous, though not intrusive, NASCR bellow aside, this lump delivers surging, seemingly relentless acceleration right up to and doubtless well beyond the 135mph or so we managed (the R63’s Vmax is electronically governed to 155mph). in short, 2.3 tonnes tkaes on 503 AMG ponies. And loses. What’s more, though weight and high performance are not a recipe for nimble back lane flick-flacking, the R63’s tonnage (along with clever suspension and aerodynamics) at least translates into the sort of high speed stability that makes three-digit cruising speeds seem utterly pedestrian.
Make, therefore, no mistake. The AMG R63 is a devilishly accomplished machine. It’s even reasonably efficient. Hammer-down blasts on the autobahn notwithstanding, the trip computer matched the R63’s official combined mpg figure of 17.3mpg.
But for all its force-of-nature power and speed, its seating and load
space, its all-wheel drive uber-specced chassis and its luxury and
status, the R63 sn a car in existential crisis. It’s the solution to a
problem we’re not sure anyone has faced and the answer to the question
we’re confident no one ever posed.
And yet…and yet. It defies justification and defines pointlessness. But the world is a more colourful place with the R63 rumbling through its streets. Dammit if we couldn’t help but like it.
The boring bit:
Mercedes-Benz R63 L AMG 4MATIC (LWB)
Price: £74,115
Capacity: 6,208cc 32v, V8
Transmission: 7-speed auto, 4WD
Power: 503bhp @ 6,800rpm
Torque: 464lb/ft at 5,200rpm
0-62mph: 5.1 seconds
Max speed: 155mph (electronically governed)
Fuel consumption: 17.3mpg combined
Insurance: Group 20 (est)
On sale in UK: Sept ‘06
Posted 14 January 2007, by gjhgjhg
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